The behaviour of many Poles towards the Jewish population during the Nazi occupation of Poland has always been a controversial issue. Although the Poles are supposed not to have collaborated with the invaders, there is evidence to show that in respect of the Jewish population, the behaviour of many Poles, including members of the underground, was far from exemplary. Poland is also the only European country where Jews were being murdered after the end of the war and where strong anti-Semitic tendencies are still present. This book analyses this question in an historical context and attempts to offer an explanation for the phenomenon of Polish anti-Semitism during and after the end of the war. The work is based on recently uncovered documents as well as on personal accounts of witnesses to the events during the war.

Autorentext

LEO COOPER is Senior Research Associate at the Contemporary Europe Research Centre and Russian and Euro-Asian Studies Centre, both at University of Melbourne. He is the author of The Political Economy of Soviet Military Power, Soviet Reforms and Beyond, Power and Politics in the Soviet Union, Stakhanovites - and Others: the Story of a Worker in the Soviet Union 1939-1946 and Russia and the World.

Inhalt
Foreword Introduction Prologue: Poland Welcomes Back Survivors - May 1946 PART I: THE POLISH EXILE The Dawn of a Jewish Community in Poland Jews in the Struggle for Poland's Independence PART II: BEFORE THE GREAT CATASTROPHE (1918-1939) The Polish Eagle Spreads its Wings - 1918 Signs of Impending Disaster - 1935-1939 PART III: THE GREAT CATASTROPHE - 1939-1944 Onlookers Jewish Refugees in the USSR Looters Polish Resistance and Collaboration The Jews in the Polish Armies Saviours - Righteous Among the Nations PART IV: BEYOND THE GREAT CATASTROPHE The Last Blood Libel in Poland - Kielce 1946 Between Tragedy and Infamy - March 1968 Anti-Semitism Without Jews Epilogue: Facing the Past References Index